Nicholas Gannon

Nicholas Gannon is both the author and illustrator of The Doldrums, a children’s adventure whose maps, portraits, and invented artifacts are part of its storytelling. Archer B. Helmsley longs for exploration while his grandparents, celebrated adventurers, are missing on an iceberg. Confined by his cautious mother, he forms an expedition with Oliver, a nervous boy with unusual practical skills, and Adélaïde, a former ballerina with a wooden leg. Their plan to locate Archer’s grandparents turns imagination and friendship into preparation for a larger journey. Greenwillow Books launched the Doldrums series with this novel in 2015; The Doldrums and the Helmsley Curse continues the adventure. Gannon studied art in New York and has described an early fascination with picture books, old houses, and exploratory tales. His illustrations deepen the novel’s dry humor and carefully furnished world, making the visual contribution inseparable from the characters’ belief that adventure starts by observing details other people overlook.